By Colette Davidson
“I’m not a representative of the Dalai Lama. I’m just a journalist.”
Thomas Laird makes no attempts at single-handedly trying to resolve the issue of Tibet. Nor does he claim the right to advise Tibetans on what they should do to save their country. For many Tibetans in Minnesota, however, Laird is the closest they will get to meeting His Holiness the Dalai Lama. After all, Laird did spend three years and more than 60 hours questioning, arguing and bantering with Tibet’s lovable leader.
Laird visited the Tibetan American Foundation of Minnesota (TAFM) in St. Paul on Thursday to discuss his new book, “The Story of Tibet: Conversations with the Dalai Lama.” With thirty years of journalistic and photographic work under his belt, Laird undertook the enormous project of writing a popular history of Tibet. What began as a deep rooted interest in South Asia turned into ten years of interviews, transcriptions and research on the history of Tibet through the eyes of the 14th Dalai Lama-the best way the story can be told, according to Laird.
“It’s impossible to discuss Tibetan history without his views.”
Besides the fact that the Dalai Lama has been present for many of the major events in Tibetan history, he also offers an “uncommon” perception of reality. While most lay people exist in the “common” realm, the Dalai Lama has, through his lifelong meditation, reached such a level of non-attachment from his external surroundings that his views of the world are inherently different from those not practicing so intensely. Some may see flowers falling after Milarepa’s death as purely coincidental, while His Holiness finds a much more auspicious explanation for such an event. Weaving both the common and uncommon realities interchangeably throughout the book, Laird uncovers a history of Tibet not found in other books about the country.
“Tibetan history doesn’t have to be so complicated-it can be very simple. Most people wouldn’t read an academic history of Tibet anyway-it’s boring. They need a popular account.my job was to write something short and concise and to entertain you.”
Laird seeks a reader audience of young people, be them Tibetan, Chinese, American or otherwise. His aim is not only to entertain but to educate people on what he concludes is the real truth about Tibet’s history, despite what China may say. For decades, the Chinese government has taught its citizens that Tibet is a part of China, so many are unlikely to believe differently. Instead, “there is a sense of aggrieved nationalism in China.”
Covering such topics as Buddhism, Mao Tse-Tung, evolution, Tibetan monks and the existence of God, Laird pushes the Dalai Lama to discuss issues that he has never ventured to discuss publicly before. From his hours of interviews, Laird discovered a frankness, practicality and rejection of the superficial in the Dalai Lama. “He is not interested in beauty for its sake. Beauty isn’t important-what’s important is that it inspires devotion in people. He’s not interested in metaphors. He’s a Buddhist so he’s very non-attached.” Instead, the Dalai Lama concentrates on purifying the mind, transforming greed to compassion and always focusing on the goal of becoming wiser, more caring, more mature. “What we learn [in the book] is who the Dalai Lama is–it is as much a biography of him as it is a Tibetan history.”
By combining the Dalai Lama’s vision of Tibetan history with summaries from historical records, Laird pieces together a story that is ultimately multi-level. For those who say the account is subjective, relying only on the Dalai Lama’s foggy memory of history and his mythological attitude towards reality, Laird assures that the book was written scrupulously. “I did years of research to make it historically accurate and the footnotes are there to show you the sources.” Ten years of work, in fact. The Dalai Lama warned Laird about his project during their first visit, “It is easy to talk about, but it will be hard work for you.”
Back at TAFM, Laird read excerpts from his book, fielded informed questions from the audience and talked a bit about his life. He recounted his years in Nepal, working on a Sherpa oral mythology grant project in the 1970’s and witnessing the days following the Royal family massacre in 2000, which he wrote about in an article for Time Magazine. He talked about China and America’s roles in the world as well as the similarities between the Palestinian struggle and that of the Tibetans. “If Palestine succeeds in creating independence through the use of violence and the Tibetans fail to achieve autonomy by following the path of non-violence, what does that say about our world?”
Even if Laird is hesitant to make predictions for the future of Tibet, many people at TAFM looked up to him with admiration. “I came to support this author and to learn from him,” says Tenzin Suitsang, “it’s interesting to know how he wrote [the book]. He spent so much time with His Holiness. We don’t get a chance to speak to the Dalai Lama so it’s neat to experience it through someone else.”
Although he is extremely passionate about Tibet, its people and its leader, Laird would never admit to hero worship. After spending his first four hours with the Dalai Lama, Laird realized that His Holiness was just a regular guy-if not an utterly amazing one.
“He’s not a rock star-he’s a religious leader.All of the things he’s experienced in his life have shaped him. He doesn’t stand on ceremony. He just wants to be treated normally.”
